2007
Ray Miller
Dr. Ray Miller received his M.S. in Dance (1977) and a Ph.D. in Theatre (1984) from the University of Oregon. His professional credentials encompass musical theatre, theatre and dance history, dance aesthetics, modern and jazz/tap technique, mime and pantomime, directing, and choreography. Mr. Miller is professor and chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance at Appalachian State University in North Carolina. He is the current president of the Congress on Research in Dance (CORD). Miller has directed and/or choreographed more than 200 musicals, operas, plays, and/or dance concerts. He has worked with playwrites to develop and produce new works, such as "Leaning Towards Infinity" based on a novel by Sue Woolfe. He has directed some of his own work, such as the play "Tragedy at Kent State", and dance dramas based on the events of 9/11 and the plight of runaways in Atlanta. Miller has written articles and reviews for numerous academic journals, and presented papers at numerous national conferences. Praeger Press will soon publish his book on the history of dance on the American musical stage.
2006
Dianne Markham
Dianne Markham received a B.A. in Contemporary Dance from the University of Oregon. Throughout her professional career, Dianne performed nationally and internationally with the Murray Louis Dance Company and Nureyev and Friends. She has trained with Hanya Holm, Alwin Nikolais, Murray Louis, Phyllis Lamhut, Zena Rommet, Alfred Corvino, and Finus Jhung. Dianne's choreography has been performed by national and international companies at such venues including the Kennedy Center, the First Helsinki International Ballet Competition, and for a PBS documentary based on the choreographic process for "Silent Places/The Looking Glass". Recently, Dianne has been a guest teacher/choreographer at the Mid-Pacific Performing Arts High School in Hawaii, a principal teacher at the Nikolais/Louis Legacy workshop in Salt Lake City, Utah, and a Distinguished Alumna Commencement speaker at the University of Oregon. She is a recent recipient of the Board of Govenor's Excellence in Teaching Award. Ms. Markham has been teaching at North Carolina School of the Arts since 1980 where she served as Assistant Dean for ten years, and has choreographed more than thirty-seven original works.
2005
Tiffany Mills
Tiffany Mills was born in North Carolina and raised in Oregon. She moved to New York City in 1995 after receiving her B.A. in Dance from the University of Oregon Honors College, and M.F.A. in Choreography from the Ohio State University. Called "one of the real talents of the emerging generation" by the Village Voice, and "Smart, fresh, and accomplished" by the New York Times, Tiffany Mills' choreography has been produced at a variety of venues both in New York and nationally, including Lincoln Center Out of Doors Series, Joyce Soho, Dance Theater Workshop, P.S. 122, Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival, Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio, and Portland Institute for Contemporary Art's Time Based Arts Festival. Mills received a Bates Dance Festival Emerging Choreographer Award in 1998, was a member of HERE's Artist Residency Program in 2002 and 2003, and was selected as a University of Oregon School of Music and Dance Distinguished Alumna for 2005. She was also honored by the University of Oregon by receivig the Boekhelheide Creativity Award in Chemistry, Music, and Dance in 2006.
2004
Barry McNabb
Barry McNabb received his Bachelor of Science in Dance from the University of Oregon in 1981. He made his professional debut in July of 1981 for Bob Fosse in his production, "Dancin'", for which he was also the dance captain. He then went to work with Agnes DeMille, Juliet Prowse, Michael Bennet, Peter Genarro, Mike Ockrent, Harold Prince, and Gillian Lynne, among others, also appearing in the original Broadway casts of "Me and My Girl" and "The Phantom of the Opera", and on television for "Saturday Night Live" and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien". As a director and choreographer his work has been seen in numerous Off-Broadway, Regional, International, as well as major New York theaters including the Majestic, St. James, The Broadway, Winter Garden, Lincoln Center, and on film, television and commercials. His productions have garnerned many nominations and awards such as the Drama Desk, Connecticut Critics, MAC, Bistro, Barrymore, Emmy and Premio (Spanish Tony, three times). He was instrumental in the development of Broadway Cares, a theatre charity that has to date awarded over 20,000,000 to AIDS research and care facilities. He produced/wrote/directed/choreographed what has become their largest annual money-raiser, Broadway's Annual Easter Bonnet Competitions. He was also a member of the first Mentoring Group from the professional theatre community to work as individual mentors to inner-city children. He has served on multiple committees for the theatrical director's union, the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers (SSDC) and currently is the chairman of the Callaway Award. This award is the only peer award given in the NYC theatre community. It is given each year by a panel of twelve directors and choreographers for outstanding work in the New York Theatrical season. Mr. McNabb has been its chair for three years. In addition he has taught master classes throughout the world and has served on the faculties of the Royal Academy of Dance, Academy of Musical and Dramatic Arts, UO's Summer Dance Pursuits, and others. He was presented the UO School of Music Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2004 and returned to choreograph "For Jamie" as a gift to UO-RDC and the UO Department of Dance.
2000
Janet Towner
Janet Towner, dancer and educator, studied at the Charles Weidman School of Modern Dance and performed in the Charles Weidman Theatre Dance Company from 1969 to 1975. Ms. Towner became a principal dancer in the Weidman Company and served as Weidman's teaching and choreographic assistant during those years. Since 1975, she has taught and reconstructed Weidman's works for colleges and dance companies throughout the United States. In 1990, Janet received her M.S. in dance from the University of Oregon.